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To the mods and Admin and general users ...

I am seeing more and more dis-respectful replies to newbies then ever before, and it is getting old, all this does is run off potential new comers to this site who might be the next great cooker and spreads a not so good rep about this site
at the same time I see some mods have be respectful to others in there sigs. I think this should become policy across the forum period and those that are rude and disrespectful in their reply should get a vacation to let them know this is not to be tolerated IMO
This site is about growth and interest in these toys of ours, not about ripping newbies who may ask a question that maybe have been asked many times over, so what, why not just post a link to the search and to the Wiki and say welcome to the forums , instead of bashing them? It would leave a better taste in the newbs mouths and they might become a contributor in the future.
Also think about this, just how many of you cookers have something in your sig asking for a cup of coffee ? or Donate to XDA or Donations graciously accepted. Well if a newbie is made to feel welcomed and comfortable here , They are more then likely going leave you a little something.
Me , If I notice a rom cooker being rude, they are not very likely going to get anything from me even if they had something great and useful.
I just replied to a newbie that asked a simple question, but not before someone posted a B.S. reply, I instead answered it with something useful and promoted the search engine at the same time
This did two things, first the newbies was made to feel welcomed and also if someone was to search the same question, they would find a reasonable answer.
BTW B.S. replies just screw up the search results forcing newbies just ask questions instead of finding answers.
Flame away if you want or become part of the solution .

i agree,
there are times that newbs do need help. some of those who i have pointed in the right direction have tried to search, but either search the wrong thing or don't know what they are looking for.
it does work two ways and some of the mods and senior members are to be commended for their help. ( i can think of about 10 folks who go out of their way to help as many as possible and never rip a newb)
those who are helped are more likely to help others.

I find it often takes longer to explain how to use the search facility properly to yield useable results than it takes to answer the specific question, but there is no excuse for rude replies, if you don't like what you see simply move on rather than posting an offensive reply - Mike

Here is a good example of what I am talking about,
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=403829
This reply by kspirit did nothing to help this user ,
No , nothing like that runs on the tilt..
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.
its these kind of responses that need to be curtailed.
Even though a mod did respond , he/she did nothing regarding the above users response. All this does is give the impression that this behavior is condoned .
I am not knocking the Moderator (I do find him to be very helpful) but they do have a huge influence on how others act on this site, and by not informing this above user that these types of replies are not helpful or uncalled for) they are giving the impression that it is okay.
Mods & Admin , what do you all think ? Am I off track here ?

Just wanted to add this:
If the mods were to take the time to edit the titles like this one " New AT&T Tilt Phone - Help" to something like this...Will software like HTC Home, Mobile Shell, Pocket Informant work on both the tilt & 8525?. or something along those lines.....
This would help with search engine results, Yea its abit more work for the mods to do this but it will help greatly in producing more viable search results .
Just a thought...

i think what drives some ppl to be rude is the fact that the ppl who decided to ask a repeated question were told that they have to search for an existing answer before asking a new question, and that they decided not to do that and just post a new one, i think both are mistaken here, and the one with the question brought it on themselves. i really don't like rude answers, but!

AthenaLod said:
i think what drives some ppl to be rude is the fact that the ppl who decided to ask a repeated question were told that they have to search for an existing answer before asking a new question, and that they decided not to do that and just post a new one, i think both are mistaken here, and the one with the question brought it on themselves. i really don't like rude answers, but!
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Ahh do you search much ? this user did not ask the same question twice....
and there is no excuse for being rude, and so what if they had ? a simple link to the Wiki would be a very easy way to deal with it, and a welcome to the forum would get much better results.
why would I want to donate or promote this site in any form if all I got is ripped on ? hmmm
Like Mike has posted,
if you don't like what you see simply move on rather than posting an offensive reply - Mike
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This would yield better results .

by "told" i meant that for example in the kaiser forum, the only sticky there is titled "**BEFORE YOU POST START HERE**" and it says "Read and search before posting. Reply to an existing thread before creating a new thread. Redundant threads will be closed." so, if somebody decides that he/she wants to just ignore this, he/she brought it on themselves. i don't do bad language, or encourage it, but, sometimes some ppl can be really so lazy to even do a search

Just my personal opinion....
I've only been here for a few months and I have to say, I've seen more useless threads then ever before! Now, don't get me wrong, I love to help, and do all the time, but at some point, you see a junior on their first post asking something like, "How do I uninstall an app?", or "How do I turn the phone off?" So at some point of seeing these threads, someone will be a bit frustrated and point them to the search and wiki fetaures located on the top bar instead of a full answer. I fully understand your point, but like I said, these members who join just for a simple answer then after 10 minutes ask why nobody is helping can aggrivate all of us users who come here for new information on a daily basis. Especially when they start a thread, get an answer, and never return.
Look here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=404065
Now in this post, this user was looking for a specific dialer, and of course it's impoosible to search for an image, but I did help. Actually at first, I was a bit mad at the fact they posted the image, but didn't ask in the thread they got the photo from, then realized the image wasn't from here. But after I saw that, I tried to give some info on it, but I can't spend time looking for something they want, but I can help, so I did.
I think I'm done typing , but I'll say this, when I first joined, actually being my first forum, I had a bunch of questions, I didn't feel a need to post a thread for one simple question. I actually spent about a week after work searching and going through a bunch of pages looking for info, and I found a lot!
Also, a suggestion, I asked this in the SPAM thread, how about putting a block on junior users poting new threads? It would prevent SPAM and these simple question threads.

It seems that mods and Admin are strangely silent regarding this topic......wonder why..

I don't think they aren't responding for any unknown reason, this topic has been discussed so many times, there is no interest in tackling this issue anymore.

Just wanted to say that F2504x4 put the problem very articulately and I totally agree with him. Pointing out a mistake (such as not using the search facility) need not be done in a rude and dismissive way.
I will just remind us that we were all noobs one day, and also that some people are more technically minded than others. What may seem to us a simple and trivial question is obviously not so for the one asking it.

TheChampJT said:
I don't think they aren't responding for any unknown reason, this topic has been discussed so many times, there is no interest in tackling this issue anymore.
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They should be taking a interest in this.....if they are becoming numb to it , then they need to take a hard look at why they are a moderator, Sorry if this sounds harsh . Moderators are the leaders that others look to for guidance, they help set the tone of the community.
This is a great site, with a lot of great talent , but it will not take long before it becomes over shadowed with a darker side.
Continued growth is key to any forum and community , and running off new comers with not help with that.
Fact is you will always have newbs ignoring stickies and search engines , nothing will ever change that.
All this site can do is maintain a positive atmosphere , and continuing education to those that join .
So i ask again , what say you Admin and mods ?
Thank you pedmond for this , very well put.
I will just remind us that we were all noobs one day, and also that some people are more technically minded than others. What may seem to us a simple and trivial question is obviously not so for the one asking it.
Yesterday 07:49 PM
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F2504x4 said:
It seems that mods and Admin are strangely silent regarding this topic......wonder why..
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Don't really think the issue is with Mods and Admin. I do see a lot of evidence of them cleaning up threads if they're getting out of hand and sorting out users that are really getting obnoxious. But the problem seems to be that certain people feel their post count is a license to have a go at the newer members. And certain new members seem to think the world is their private helpdesk and that the purpose of these forums is to instantly deal with their every need. Well in any large group you'll always get those that are unpleasant to deal with - that's life. There are just as many, maybe more, who're a real pleasure to deal with and try their best to help. I think if new members read the forum rules and were prepared to lurk a bit before posting, then they'd quickly get an idea of what types of questions to ask and how to get help.
So while I personally totally agree with your views on decent behaviour etc I don't think its an issue to get wound up about. If you can filter out some of the fluff, this site is still the best resource for our phones by far.
(But I've only got about 80 posts, so maybe I'll change my mind when I hit 100! )

What are the Mods/Admins supposed to do? Ban every user?
I often tell people to search for things when they have one post, and have a very stupid question with a blatant answer. When they do that, they don't deserve to be treated with a great amount of respect.
When someone who has evidently searched around, and has clearly tried to solve their own problems and then as a last resort asks for help, I'm far more inclined to be generous with my time, and try to help them.
Some people are obnoxious and post without searching at all, but the admins/mods can't go and ban people because they were once an idiot.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2360488&posted=1#post2360488
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

l3v5y said:
What are the Mods/Admins supposed to do? Ban every user?
I often tell people to search for things when they have one post, and have a very stupid question with a blatant answer. When they do that, they don't deserve to be treated with a great amount of respect.
When someone who has evidently searched around, and has clearly tried to solve their own problems and then as a last resort asks for help, I'm far more inclined to be generous with my time, and try to help them.
Some people are obnoxious and post without searching at all, but the admins/mods can't go and ban people because they were once an idiot.
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Wow what a way to start off a reply Ban every user ?
I think you should re read what has been stated, I did not hint or say ban anyone..but if that is what it takes to effect a change then maybe it should be considered but it should be directed at those that are creating a un-friendly and less then helpful place . IMO
First off I have no problem with someone being told to search, its how they are being told and some of the un-called for comments that are becoming more and more common and is the real problem, go read the example I posted earlier.
what do you consider a worthy response in this thread ? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=404065
As to the stupid questions , Idiots and respect, ahhh I thinks its way past beer thirty .

swanlm said:
. But the problem seems to be that certain people feel their post count is a license to have a go at the newer members.
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while I agree with a lot of what you said, In the example I gave , its even the low post count members that are posting these less then helpful responses, so that is telling me that this a is trend that is spreading and the bad thing is that a mod even replied in the thread, and did nothing about the response given, they only quoted part of my reply about searching.... ( I am still wondering why...)
Btw I only started this thread after a lot of reading and seeing this trend become more common place.

It's not about being against Noobies...
Too many come here from other sites for the wrong reason. Many of the questions that get jumped, closed & merged really should have been asked at the AT&T or other carrier support forums.
I'll quote this post of mine:
I think what a lot of people forget is that this is not a "make my phone neat & kewl" place.
As implied by the name this is technically a Developers forum/community.
Now what does that mean? Well first off it means that there is an expectation that if you are here then you want to customize your device but rather than just installing something that someone packaged you want to understand how it works and maybe even enhance it yourself.
When I first came here with a Blue Angel it was a different environment. PDA Phones were not embraced by the general public because of the expense and complexity (I paid over $400 for my BA). A $400 phone 4 years ago was expensive, today the Tilt is $300 after rebates but with inflation & the rise in the cost of other devices and the fact that there are other sources out there giving them away for $150 our neat bit of kit has become popular with mainstream users.
Now we have a flood of new users who are asking not "How can I do this myself" but more like "Give me the quick fix" without caring to understand the process. See if you read the threads then you get to experience the learning process, you see how the issues were investigated and confirmed. Then you get to watch the different attempts at resolution and learn why some failed while others worked. That is called Development.
The NooB backlash is coming from users who have walked in the development shoes and is directed mainly at those who don't care for the journey but just want the end result or destination.
As a Development Forum we are just as much (if not more) about the journey. I've read so many comments like "I don't have time to read all of the threads" or "I don't care how it works, just that it does". These very statements are contrary to the heart & soul of XDA-Devs and that is why the backlash is so strong.
Let me be very clear on this: IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE JOURNEY THEN YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN'T BE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
XDA-Devs is about developers & hackers helping each other and working together to get the most out of our devices by understanding them better than most.
XDA-Devs is not about helping everyone who wants a "Kewl bit of kit" make their phone better than the guy next to him.
Now do we go kicking users off who never contribute anything, NO. We tolerate it to an extent. Where the toleration ends is when these users start diluting the usefulness of the forum by repeating the same questions over and over again.
You ask us to understand your position. Well if you want to benefit from our experience and time then I think it is only fair that you understand our position.
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Good post and very worthwhile reading kyphur,
and I understand clearly why it was written.
Just be aware of this trend and its long term results...
Btw I have walked in Mod shoes , and understand the inner workings of forums, and it is no easy task managing a community.
Thanks for posting that.

Icon Bar on Pure

I'm sure there's a post related to this, but I haven't been able to locate the information.
I have an ATT Pure version of Topaz
My question is the icon (slider) bar on the phone has a blue background behind the icons and it wont go away. I'm new to making mods to the phone say is there a cab out there to chang this? and or if a file what do I do in order to add it into the phone and update this blue bar. I'd prefer it to be clear and allow my wallpaper to show through it.
Thanks for your time and help
JT

triton360 said:
I'm sure there's a post related to this, but I haven't been able to locate the information.
I have an ATT Pure version of Topaz
My question is the icon (slider) bar on the phone has a blue background behind the icons and it wont go away. I'm new to making mods to the phone say is there a cab out there to chang this? and or if a file what do I do in order to add it into the phone and update this blue bar. I'd prefer it to be clear and allow my wallpaper to show through it.
Thanks for your time and help
JT
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Search for a transparant slider. Not so difficult...
Don't open a new thread for each question you have.

koen-ronse said:
Search for a transparant slider. Not so difficult...
Don't open a new thread for each question you have.
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Koen-ronse, these forums are littered with you telling people to search for things. You can see that some people are noobies and don't yet know the terminology or even the language, but you persist. I have checked your posts and sure enough about 50% of these relate to you telling people off for not searching. Please stop it. I waste more of my time reading your unhelpful posts like this than those of other people.
Triton 360 - it is not the transparant SLIDER you need to find, it is the transparant CURTAINS. Depending on what Manila you have will depend on what you will need. Check your manila type in the settings tab of your touch flo. Then search for the right one for your phone. If your TouchFLO 3D number starts with 2.0, then you will be able to use the file attached here. You can of course try it anyway, but if you do, be sure to back-up first.

mitsi said:
Koen-ronse, these forums are littered with you telling people to search for things. You can see that some people are noobies and don't yet know the terminology or even the language, but you persist. I have checked your posts and sure enough about 50% of these relate to you telling people off for not searching. Please stop it. I waste more of my time reading your unhelpful posts like this than those of other people.
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So you have also seen these two?
koen-ronse said:
Thanks to all who don't use search and open directly a new thread, it is more difficult to find something for the searching people (like me), because you get a huge number of hits with irrelevant threads... Get it?
I don't want to demotivate but motivate to search and read. When you give directly a helping link, they stay doing it.
Seeing every time new opened threads from newbies with every time the same silly questions, that's very demotivating for us, the people who supposed to help you. And that's what you'r looking for here, somebody who wants to help you. We don't have to do it, but we like it because this forum is a bit like a hobby for us.
So, we can shoose, saying nothing more or trying to teach you how a forum works. I prefer the last thing... And if somebody like me (the bad one) point you in the right direction, it's not for beeing bad, but for getting a better usefull forum. You can see in my posthistory that it's really multiple times a day that new useless threads were opened...
Normally it's a work for the moderators, but they also have a live and can not be always here, because also them are doing this as a hobby. Be all glad that I don't be one of them or it was the same comment and also closing the thread directly.
I take some time for this post because I can quote him for futur use when I get comments again from not-readers, not-searchers, new-post-openers and silly-question-posters...
If you have really followed my posts, you know that I help a lot when the rules are followed a bit...
And do you know why I can help others? Because I read a lot...
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koen-ronse said:
I'm from Belgium. Here we speak Dutch, French and a bit German. Most of my English I've learned here and on the internet in general by reading and even now at the moment my online Google translator is opened... So no excuse for that...
But even with the exact words it's difficult to find the right thread or post if you're searching something. And that was not a problem about 2 years ago. That's started with all the new users now. It takes a little work, but if everybody does a little effort, this forum can be a strong instrument again...
Before htc was only buyed by people who were really interested. Now htc is a more commercial product. People buy it and thereafter they can not work with it. They are not interested, they just want that it works. So they don't read, don't search... They just want an instant solution or link for there problem... Result: 100's questions of the same type... It's really demotivating for people who love there device and want to learn and share knowledge here...
I really hope that mods can do something at that, but i'm afraid it's a hopeless situation. I'm allready happy if I can prevent somebody of opening a second useless thread, even the first one is allready one to much...
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After reading that, you should understand...

Yawn, yawn - these are your opinions and I stand by my point that you don't help may people and you waste my time and that of others.

mitsi said:
Yawn, yawn - these are your opinions and I stand by my point that you don't help may people and you waste my time and that of others.
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If they don't open a useless new thread, but post there question in the right excisting one, you even don't have to open it...

I have had to read through more flaming posts than stupid questions lately.
Its quite annoying.

Thanks! mitsi, that did the trick.
Sorry Koen I was unware of what that object was called, so I was looking for "sliders" and not finding the information I was looking for.
Thanks again.

Interesting...
Couple members on this, Topaz XDA underforum, have behaviour like MODs or ADMIN, but them ARE DIDNT THAT...Why this members get mods job ??? You are "members" or "senior members"...dont "moderator" or "administrator"...And if dont will, or if dont know helping oder "younger" members or "newbies" , than please dont reply with "clevering"... But, if something isnt about forum rules, that make "clean" moderators...
Thanks and
Regards

TTN

Recently i have upgraded to WM 6.5. But when I install TTN 7.9, I get an error. Anyone who knows which version works on WM 6.5?
Tnx!

MDAJoel said:
Recently i have upgraded to WM 6.5. But when I install TTN 7.9, I get an error. Anyone who knows which version works on WM 6.5?
Tnx!
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6 posts and you opened already 3 threads about TomTom...
And what is "an error"???
You want help? Be clear in your questions and ask them in an excisting thread. Start reading and use the searchbutton...

@koen-ronse
I see a lot of reply's from you and im wondering if youre here to help or to complain?

djg269 said:
@koen-ronse
I see a lot of reply's from you and im wondering if youre here to help or to complain?
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Then you have also seen this one...
koen-ronse said:
Thanks to all who don't use search and open directly a new thread, it is more difficult to find something for the searching people (like me), because you get a huge number of hits with irrelevant threads... Get it?
I don't want to demotivate but motivate to search and read. When you give directly a helping link, they stay doing it.
Seeing every time new opened threads from newbies with every time the same silly questions, that's very demotivating for us, the people who supposed to help you. And that's what you'r looking for here, somebody who wants to help you. We don't have to do it, but we like it because this forum is a bit like a hobby for us.
So, we can shoose, saying nothing more or trying to teach you how a forum works. I prefer the last thing... And if somebody like me (the bad one) point you in the right direction, it's not for beeing bad, but for getting a better usefull forum. You can see in my posthistory that it's really multiple times a day that new useless threads were opened...
Normally it's a work for the moderators, but they also have a live and can not be always here, because also them are doing this as a hobby. Be all glad that I don't be one of them or it was the same comment and also closing the thread directly.
I take some time for this post because I can quote him for futur use when I get comments again from not-readers, not-searchers, new-post-openers and silly-question-posters...
If you have really followed my posts, you know that I help a lot when the rules are followed a bit...
And do you know why I can help others? Because I read a lot...
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And it gets worse and worse every day. Before there were only WM-users who were able to work with it. More and more the usual users buy a htc and always the same problems are passing here...
Your post isn't very helpfull also...

your forgetting the language problem i think
Many of us are struggling to find the exact words or terms.
But i read your post and sorry for the blame

djg269 said:
your forgetting the language problem i think
Many of us are struggling to find the exact words or terms.
But i read your post and sorry for the blame
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I'm from Belgium. Here we speak Dutch, French and a bit German. Most of my English I've learned here and on the internet in general by reading and even now at the moment my online Google translator is opened... So no excuse for that...
But even with the exact words it's difficult to find the right thread or post if you're searching something. And that was not a problem about 2 years ago. That's started with all the new users now. It takes a little work, but if everybody does a little effort, this forum can be a strong instrument again...
Before htc was only buyed by people who were really interested. Now htc is a more commercial product. People buy it and thereafter they can not work with it. They are not interested, they just want that it works. So they don't read, don't search... They just want an instant solution or link for there problem... Result: 100's questions of the same type... It's really demotivating for people who love there device and want to learn and share knowledge here...
I really hope that mods can do something at that, but i'm afraid it's a hopeless situation. I'm allready happy if I can prevent somebody of opening a second useless thread, even the first one is allready one to much...

Yes i agree with koen-ronse, but problem is when man something search, have so much found undetermined result...newbie have problem. E.G. type "MMS error" , you have got about 5000 post results...And what doing that ! Read all 5000 posts ??? But it dosent your thing, it is something for Admin and Mods...Must something better make with "Search button". We "oldie WM-er" have search problem, how about "newbie" ??? Very hardly...
Regards

miro666 said:
Yes i agree with koen-ronse, but problem is when man something search, have so much found undetermined result...newbie have problem. E.G. type "MMS error" , you have got about 5000 post results...And what doing that ! Read all 5000 posts ??? But it dosent your thing, it is something for Admin and Mods...Must something better make with "Search button". We "oldie WM-er" have search problem, how about "newbie" ??? Very hardly...
Regards
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You're right. We have to accept this evolution. I promise to be milder in the future...

Do we really need thread Nazis right now?

This is a new phone with new users coming in here every day. I've seen he same one or two people here not answer a single question, they just say wrong forum or hey let me google that for you.
Way to foster a growing community.

I think everyone that replies should encourage people to search for themselves and put things in the proper forums.
I know it falls on deaf ears as most people want to be spoon fed - it is just to much work to read 30 pages of a thread to understand how something works - they just want the short answer. Then they complain when they miss a step and break something.

I agree. It seems like they just started recently. Ive had my phone since launch and it hasnt been like this. It does get annoying to see dumb questions but most on here its our first android phone ( backflip and aria didnt really cut it).
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I have just decided if you are a thread Nazi I will block you. I have 2 on my ignore list right now.

gunnyman said:
I have just decided if you are a thread Nazi I will block you. I have 2 on my ignore list right now.
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If you don't know how to block people, let me know and and I'll google it for you ; )
J/k, don't block me.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

ashoooo said:
If you don't know how to block people, let me know and and I'll google it for you ; )
J/k, don't block me.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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LOL 10chars

gunnyman said:
This is a new phone with new users coming in here every day. I've seen he same one or two people here not answer a single question, they just say wrong forum or hey let me google that for you.
Way to foster a growing community.
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I do notice the large amount of people that seem to ask questions that have already been covered or start cloned threads that do not need repeated. You could view it as overly eager people who want to jump into the community before getting to know it or as people to lazy to do a search and/or read some existing threads.
Either way, I always felt ignoring the post seems to be a better option than making a negative comment. I think you are correct in saying this does not "foster a growing community."
Do keep in mind that it is sometimes hard to search for the correct answer or how to word a question when you are new to a subject. Back in my first few weeks of XDA on my old tilt, I felt a bit bombarded by new terminology and confusing tutorials. More experienced members should be able to determine if an OP is partialy ignorant or just plain lazy. I say when in doubt, ignore it.

Good post, Shovelhead. I agree with your comments.
I think another factor is that just now many people are just being introduced to smart phones. And that in turn probably is causing many new forum users to come on board. I mean new to forums, period. So they may not know the methods, and protocols expected.
It's interesting that I see in many forums that some people will expend more effort griping or castigating someone than it would take to just answer the question, or ignore the post/thread if it is one that doesn't interest them.
I actually am not familiar with the ignore option. I presumed that would just ignore if they sent you PM messages.
Can someone Google that for me?

ewingr said:
Good post, Shovelhead. I agree with your comments.
I actually am not familiar with the ignore option. I presumed that would just ignore if they sent you PM messages.
Can someone Google that for me?
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In efforts to prevent confusion, I was referring to a personal ability to ignore. I have not used any ignore features through the forum. I am currently ignorant to these features.

Shovelhead84 said:
In efforts to prevent confusion, I was referring to a personal ability to ignore. I have not used any ignore features through the forum. I am currently ignorant to these features.
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I put them on ignore so I don't say something banworthy to them. It's the best form of self moderation for me.

I understand your point, but having the developement section tampered with unnecessary threads hampers its readability. And to many it is fundamental to keep up with multiple threads in there.
I'm not the kind of person that goes around bashing new users, but I did notice an increase in such threads lately, and although "thread nazis" can be just as annoying, don't forget there's no personal gain for them in it: they're just trying to keep the forum as clean and readable as possible.
I mean, there is a reason to have a Q&A section: using it would actually make it resourceful for newcomers while keeping developement clean.

I actually would say there haven't been many "thread nazis" in the Captivate forums. I read development for the most part and there are MANY questions (hell half of them start with [Q] that have NOTHING to do with development, people just want a question answered for them) that just belong in Q&A.
Most of the people (most, not all) tell people that they are in the wrong section but usually still provide the answer in hopes of letting the thread die. asking how a command works in adb does not count as captivate-specific android development.
it's important to remind people that the development section should be left for DEVELOPING android on the phone or TESTING new developments on the phone (or thinktanks and the occasional request for apps that would have to be dev'd to get functional)

Has anybody tried to use the search since the redesign? All my searches come up with a hundred pages of nothing remotely related to what I searched for, and that's using all combinations of the advanced search. At least for me it's useless now.
This stuff here makes mad:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=752670
Sent from my captivate

In my begginings in this forum I'm ashamed to admit that I acted like one too. But now what I do is when I see an out of place thread I reply very succinctly almost bordering on a terse response and then I suggest the Q&A section.
I then proceed to answer as many questions as I can for 5 min in an effort to make the Q&A section the best it can be and not clutter the rest of the sections.

boborone said:
Has anybody tried to use the search since the redesign? All my searches come up with a hundred pages of nothing remotely related to what I searched for, and that's using all combinations of the advanced search. At least for me it's useless now.
This stuff here makes mad:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=752670
Sent from my captivate
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I find the search function works very well.
As for not liking references to google - I don't see the problem - OK, maybe you were looking for more specific information, but like all things, likes of forums is suggestive. So why not use google, search for Android forums, then pick the ones you like.
So many questions are answered by using google but no one tries that, so unless someone says "I have tried google, and only find X - but I want Y" then a response that says "try Google" is not out of line.

My $0.02 has always been this ...
We were all noobs once. When I was a noob I had enough sense to spend time and effort rooting around XDA to learn about my new (at the time) device before I started to ask questions.
Whether it's here, or on any other message board in cyberspace, that is the standard level of expectation that the senior members of the forum have. Experienced members want to help people and often spend a lot of time adding their experience to the forum, but they also want the new members to try to help themselves first. When they see someone ask a question that's answered in a 'sticky' at the top of the page or one or two posts below on the first page, it can be amazingly frustrating, and as others have said, it unnecessarily clutters up the forum.
So yes, sometimes people are harsh. Personally, if it at least looks like someone has tried to find and answer but can't figure something out, I'm always happy to help. Those who make their very first XDA post a question that has been asked and answered many times will get a 'search is a beautiful thing' response from me with a link to the post where the answer is. It's a subtle jab, yes, but at the same time the poster gets an answer. It's not meant to be a 'Thread Nazi'.
Hopefully that nudges them down the path of looking first and not expecting to be spoon fed everything, and to the realization that the forum doesn't exist simply to be a place to pop in and ask a question and go. Every time I pick up a new device and move to a new forum I see a ton of this ... one hit wonders that you never see again.

I I don't have a problem with that at all.
But what value does "hey you should have posted that somewhere else dumbass" provide. especially in "Dev"
I mean General is the catch all
Q&A is kind of basic
Themes and Apps are self explanatory.
I see dev section as the "hey I wanna break stuff" department. If the answer to a question could break stuff I say it's a dev question.

I agree with most remarks on here. I know i have been too harsh with post on here. But mainly after i read the same post in different threads. I agree that there are alot of newer members now that are lost in the threads lol. So im glad this thread was made and cast new light for me. Guess i need to be nice and more helpfull.

smokestack76 said:
I agree with most remarks on here. I know i have been too harsh with post on here. But mainly after i read the same post in different threads. I agree that there are alot of newer members now that are lost in the threads lol. So im glad this thread was made and cast new light for me. Guess i need to be nice and more helpfull.
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Well well Smoke seems like once again we are on the same device lol. Ill be working in this forum more closely cleaning things up and trying to help point new users in the right direction.

zelendel said:
Well well Smoke seems like once again we are on the same device lol. Ill be working in this forum more closely cleaning things up and trying to help point new users in the right direction.
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Yes this rocks!!! I guess my talks with a few people worked Glad to see ya here
Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

This may be the most noob question EVER

I'm 40, have been coding sites since 94 and consider myself a geek...
I realize I am also a noob and as such am humble and afraid to piss off TPTB.
So... here's what you may consider a dumb question but I hope you answer it:
How the hell do you thank someone for their post? I'm not seeing something that looks like a "Thank You" button. Sure, I can post "Thanks" as a quick reply.. but I'm thinking that when you are referring to saying thanks in the funny welcome noobs video and having a thank meter you were not going in the direction of "post a thank you message and make this thread 10000x times longer than it should be"
Thanks,
Chris

well first off make sure that you are logged in
secondly, try to hit 10 posts. you can some more privileges at 10 posts, one of which is the ability to post in the development sections

Thanks. Didn't know that about the dev forums.
When I saw your response, I saw the Thanks button come up so I know I can at least see it and am not just "out of it".
Perhaps a noob forum would be ok to have? I know... I know... you deal with us enough as it is...Just saying...
Thank you again and I look forward to being part of the community (and maybe be able to add something of minor value)

Also the 'Thanks' button will only show if you use the new forum look, (Default), rather than the 'Classic' theme.

I have the same problem.
I have the same problem, guys. However, I feel its really quite silly, in a sense, 'cos I've been on XDA for ages now, but I've never had any reason, nor the ability in some cases (Dev threads) to post. I mean, now, I find myself in a position where I really need some dev help on a thread, but I can't ask them cos of this restriction.
And what option does this leave me with?
1. Spam the first 10 posts!
2. Forget about it.
IMO, this restriction defeats the purpose of a support community.
Unless that isn't the goal of XDA. But then, i'm sure they have their reasons...

Hi!
i have same problem.
i have some issue, and need to tell that to developer, but i can't because i don't have 10 posts :S

goodye said:
Hi!
i have same problem.
i have some issue, and need to tell that to developer, but i can't because i don't have 10 posts :S
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Click to collapse
PM the dev or make a topic asking for help if you need help, or post around.

i could post to the dev-section&thanking whitout 10 post, but someone has thanked me before that, so mabye this is the trick